Star Wars’: The Next Generation

Friday

Thirty years ago, we met Darth Vader. How should we introduce him to our kids?

It might not have been in a galaxy far, far away, but it sure was a long time ago.

Thirty years ago this month, “Star Wars” arrived in theaters. Drawing record crowds and changing the face of modern movies, it wasn’t just the movie of the year or of the decade, it was the movie of a generation.

I was 10 when I saw “Star Wars” that summer, and it warped my young mind. From the moment that giant Star Destroyer flew overhead after the opening credits to the moment Luke fired those photon torpedoes down the thermal exhaust port and blew up the Death Star, I sat in the theater (in the front row, of course), my mouth wide open in wonder.

Now I’m all grown up and have a kid of my own. When she’s a few years older, I want to warp her mind, too. But with all the sequels and prequels that followed “Star Wars,” I’m left with a perplexing philosophical question: Do I show the movies to Allison in the order I saw them — the originals (“Star Wars,” “Empire Strikes Back,” “Return of the Jedi,”) followed by the new ones (“The Phantom Menace,” “Attack of the Clones,” “Revenge of the Sith”)? Or do I show her them in the order that tells the story from beginning to end — new ones, then originals?

Laugh if you must, but for fans of a certain age, this is a vital child-rearing issue, on par with preschool choice and potty-training method.

‘Star Wars’ = ‘New Hope’

In case you’re not aware of the complicated, somewhat contradictory numbering system of the “Star Wars” films, here’s a quick primer: The movie most of us know as “Star Wars” (the first one, which ends with Luke blowing up the Death Star) is actually “A New Hope,” and it’s episode four of the series, followed by “Empire” and “Jedi.” The more recent three films — “Phantom,” “Clones” and “Sith” — are episodes one, two and three. If you watch them in numbered order, Darth Vader starts out as a little kid, grows into a bitter young man, becomes the guy in the black costume, then turns nice at the last moment.

And naturally, numbered order is the way you’re supposed to watch them, according to the company that made them.

I tried to talk to George Lucas, creator of all things “Star Wars,” but getting to Lucas is tougher than hitting that thermal exhaust port. A representative at Lucasfilm told me what I’d suspected I’d hear — that those episode numbers weren’t assigned at random.

“They’re meant to be shown in numbered order,” she said. “The way George created them is how they’re meant to be seen.”

Subhead: Fans’ opinions differ

Fair enough. That’s the official stand. But what do the fans think?

Kelly Krider of Rockford, who responded via e-mail, agreed this is a “big choice.” He has a 1-year-old son and plans to buck Lucasfilm policy when he screens them for his child.

“The original jumbled order let us have surprises along the way,” Krider wrote. “Those surprises get lost if you watch them in chronological order. I like the idea of starting in the middle, going to the end, then going back and see why it all happened the way it did. Call me superstitious, but I think they need to be viewed the way the world saw them.”

Krider, by the way, is a True Fan. Besides trips to the “Star Wars Celebration” conventions (where he met Lucas), he also builds full-size, remote-controlled R2-D2 units in his spare time.

And he thinks about the effect all this will have on his son’s feelings toward the films.

“What kind of influence will ‘Star Wars’ be on my son?” Krider asked in his e-mail. “Who knows? He might hate it due to his nerdy father’s hobbies — or he may love it just as much.”

Tiffany Kerry and her husband, Chris, both of Loves Park, wrote that their 3-year-old son, Aiden, loves the “Star Wars” spinoffs “The Ewoks Caravan of Courage” and “The Ewoks: The Battle of Endor,” which feature cute and cuddly creatures introduced in “Return of the Jedi.” In fact, he loves them more than the actual “Star Wars” movies.

“He does stop and watch them here and there,” Tiffany wrote in an e-mail. “He loves the Jedi fight scenes. I think as he gets older, he will be as much a fan as we are.”

She suggests introducing younger kids to the saga by starting with “The Phantom Menace” and finishing with “Jedi.”

“They get the full story in order, that way, and it will make more sense to them with Darth Vader and Anakan being the same person.”

Subhead: What I’ll do

Which brings me to my take on the subject. And I’ll warn you now, there’s a big spoiler coming up. So if you somehow have managed to avoid the “Star Wars” movies for three decades but still plan to watch them, you might want to skip the next paragraph.

Partly because I was much younger when the original trilogy was released, I have some very fond memories of seeing those movies. The opening of “Star Wars,” the jump to hyperspace, the explosion of the Death Star, the battle on the ice planet and the various light saber fights are some of my favorite scenes in film. But the big one — the moment where I can literally hear the entire audience gasping — is at the end of “Empire,” when Luke learns who Darth Vader really is. It looks inevitable (and even a little cliched) now, but trust me: On opening day in 1980, no one saw this coming. No one.

Someday, when she’s a little older, I want to sit down with Allison, watch “Star Wars” and — hopefully — see her eyes widen in amazement as that big ship flies overhead, then watch her cheer as Luke blows up the Death Star. And, at the end of “Empire,” I want to hear her gasp in surprise just like I did, more than a quarter century ago.

So, though I disagree with Tiffany Kerry’s choice of screening order, I couldn’t agree more with her feelings about the movies.

“‘Star Wars’ movies are something that needs to live on in our kids,” she wrote. “They are a timeless classic.”

Will Pfeifer writes about new DVDs on Tuesdays and older ones on Sundays. Contact him at 815-987-1244 or wpfeifer@rrstar.com